News Flash

Finance

At the June 25 Board of Commissioners meeting, the Township’s third-party independent auditors, Zelenkofske Axelrod LLC, along with Ed Caine, CARFAC member presented the 2017 audit results to the Commissioners. The Independent Auditors reported that they issued an unqualified “clean” opinion letter and that they did not find any reportable findings during their review of the Township’s business processes and figures. This is a far cry from reports dating back to the pre-2010 era, when audit reports carried as many as 34 reportable comments; many of which were material or significant in nature. Material comments are those that the Independent Auditors deem to pose a high risk for a material loss to the Township. These included lack of accounting policies, lack of internal controls, material audit adjustments to the financial figures, lack of proper payroll safeguards, and the list goes on. By 2012, Township Management had resolved all of the material and significant deficiencies, and has only carried minor comments for the last couple years. Now, the last “other” comment regarding the fixed asset inventory management has been resolved as a result of the new accounting system that the Township is implementing. The result: All pre-2010 lagging comments have been resolved and the Independent Auditors found nothing new as part of their annual review. These successes are the direct result of the Township making this an absolute priority. It starts with the Board of Commissioners and ripples through all levels of the Township operations. As for the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, that is available on the Township’s website and has been submitted to the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) to be considered for their Certificate of Excellence for Financial Reporting program, an award the Township has received each year, dating back to 2011.